Is Vladimir Putin deliberately destabilizing US politics?

When WikiLeaks dumped tens of thousands of often embarrassing internal Democratic Party emails, it didn’t take long for the finger to be pointed at Moscow. In many ways, that should hardly be surprising. The distinctly idiosyncratic dynamic between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has long been a topic of fascination for pundits. Some of the Republican presidential candidate’s approaches and statements – particularly questioning the U.S. commitment to NATO – are almost certainly appealing to Moscow. The Russian intelligence services have a largely deserved reputation for excellence when it comes to cyber-spying, not to mention dirty political tricks. And, perhaps most importantly of all, a growing number of Western officials and security experts are increasingly convinced that Russia is doing everything it can to politically destabilize the West. Getting through the smoke and mirrors to work out to what extent that is actually happening, however, is another matter entirely. That’s always true when it comes to Putin, of course, but even more so when it also involves Trump. It’s an argument with a compelling internal logic. There is certainly no doubt that Russia – and Putin in particular – has been pursuing a single-minded strategy to reassert its influence in global affairs, particularly in its immediate neighborhood. As part of that, there is no doubt whatsoever that Moscow has pursued an aggressive campaign of “information warfare”, using convenient truths and disinformation alike to achieve a host of political effects.For some, the pattern is all too clear. They see the hand… [Read full story]

Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Photo: Getty Images) Senator Corker told the CBS that the Iran deal is an issue that’s coming up in May and right now it doesn’t feel as if it’s going to be extended. Iran and world powers adopted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015 to curtail Tehran’s uranium enrichment activities in return for sanctions relief. In 2017, Trump decertified Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. The US’s withdrawal, if it happens, will cause the deal a collapse as Tehran has refused Washington’s proposal to re-negotiate the agreement.…... [read more]

The report, although it omitted classified details, was the U.S. government's starkest public description of what it says was an unprecedented Russian campaign to manipulate the American body politic. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an effort to help Republican Donald Trump's electoral chances by discrediting Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign, U.S. intelligence agencies said in an assessment on Friday. Russia's objectives were to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate former Secretary of State Clinton, make it harder for her to win and harm her presidency if she did, an unclassified report released by the…... [read more]

'It's a very nice letter from Putin,' said Trump. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday released what he said was a "very nice" letter from Russia's President Vladimir Putin calling for a thaw in ties between the rival powers. Relations between Washington and Moscow are at their worst since the end of the Cold War, and President Barack Obama has imposed sanctions over Russia's interventions in Syria and Ukraine. But Trump, who takes office on January 20, called several times during his election campaign for improved relations and suggested he could work with Putin to jointly oppose Islamist extremism. Putin's…... [read more]

The welcoming ceremony is held at 10 a.m at the Presidential Palace. After the ceremony, President Putin will hold talks with State President Nguyen Minh Triet and witness the signing of some documents in the afternoon. President Putin will also meet with Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong. Accompanying President Vladimir Putin are Minister of Foreign Affairs Lavrov Sergey Victorovic, assistant to the President Prikhodko Sergey Eduardovich, Russian ambassador to Vietnam Serafimov Vadim Vichtorovich, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Gref German Oskarovich, director of the…... [read more]

CAIRO — Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Egyptian counterpart on Tuesday and agreed a deal to build a nuclear plant, as he sought to boost ties on his first visit to Cairo in a decade. Putin and Sisi made a brief statement after officials signed a memorandum of understanding to build a nuclear power plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast - Egypt's first such facility. "If we can reach final decisions, then we can create a new sector in the Egyptian economy based on the construction of the plant, the training of technical staff and development of scientific…... [read more]